By Nick Worth
The sale process for the Snowflake Catalyst Paper Mill has attracted several prospective bidders, said Catalyst spokesperson Lynn Brown.
“The process has attracted a lot of interest,” Brown said. “There are a significant number of bidders who have shown interest.”
In a Sept. 17 press release the company outlined the bidding process for the Snowflake mill and noted, “The assets for sale under the sale process include the equipment and other assets associated with the paper mill, approximately 19,000 acres of land and The Apache Railway Company.
The sale process announcement then outlined the steps and timeline for soliciting bids to purchase the mill and its associated assets.
The initial offering summary and confidentiality agreement was distributed to known potential bidders on Sept. 17. The bidders then had until 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 1, to submit “certain information” and an executed confidentiality agreement.
Catalyst then had until Oct. 4 to determine if any qualified bidders returned the required materials to participate in the sale process.
According to Brown, the confidentiality agreements in the bidding process make it impossible to reveal the identities of potential bidders.
The next step in the process is for the qualified bidders to submit a non-binding indication of interest by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1. This is the Phase 1 bid deadline. This “indication of interest” will be evaluated within three days.
The published sale process goes on to read, “Once the non-binding indication of interest has been determined to likely be consummated, the bidder will submit a purchase bid or investment bid not later than 5 p.m. 30 calendar days from being advised by Catalyst to do so (the Phase 2 bid deadline).”
There is another three-day period for the company to assess the purchase or investment bid following the Phase 2 bid deadline. If Catalyst finds there is more than one qualified bid, an auction will be held “on a date and at a time and location to be advised by Catalyst to such qualified bidders.”
Asked if Catalyst officials still intend to not sell the mill as a working paper mill, Brown replied, “In our view, it is not going to continue in the form it has.”